Welcome Home, Levi

All day Monday I was sore. My hips hurts, my back was achy, and I just felt off. I was able to get a few things done around the house, but I mostly had a lazy day. When Tony was out of work we bought some groceries and by the time we got home it hurt to walk and I was exhausted.

Around 1am I started having contractions. I wasn't sure they were contractions at first- I thought they were gas pains. Once I realized they were coming every five minutes I knew it wasn't simply gas. We called our midwife at 2:30am and let her know that I was having regular contractions. She told me to get comfortable and that I had to labor a while and it was best to do so at home, especially if we wanted to avoid an epidural.

I took a shower, walked around, laid down, did everything I could to get comfortable and the pain was getting worse and worse. At 4:30am I felt it was time to go. The contractions were now 2-3 minutes apart and very strong. We called the midwife back and we decided to meet her at 5:30am at the hospital.

We arrived a few minutes before the midwife and were prepped for an exam. When Martha showed up she checked me and said that I was already at least a 5, possibly a 6. She said that a lot of the hard work was done, and I would have this baby by lunch.

We got a room and were hooked up to monitor Levi and my contractions for a few minutes. The contractions were extremely painful at this point and I was considering getting Nubane for the pain. Martha suggested a shower and walking around. So, we got in the shower and that helped for a minute, but I couldn't stand for very long because of the pain.

At 7am Elaine came and Martha left, because of the shift change. Both midwives were absolutely wonderful.

Getting back into bed, I was checked again and was a 7. I asked for the medicine and shortly thereafter had an IV in and felt a lot of relief. I was out of it, but the contractions were much less painful. This whole time, Tony was there, helping me out and supporting me. He did an amazing job of comforting and encouraging me.

After a while of easier contractions, I asked when I would need to be checked again. Elaine told me when I had the urge to push I would need to be checked. A little while later, I needed to push. Elaine checked me and I was a 9 1/2. My cervix was getting caught between his head and my pubic bone, so she didn't want me to push yet.

The medicine felt like it was starting to wear off, and I was in a world of pain. The only way it felt better was to push, but I wasn't supposed to. By 9:15 I could push and was so happy to hear that.

When I started pushing, it hurt. Alot. I was terrified of the pain, thinking something was horribly wrong and all of a sudden I didn't want to push, but needed to. Elaine caught on to what was happening and told me to not be afraid of the pain- I was doing everything right and this was happening exactly how it was supposed to.

I continued pushing, and Elaine had to break my water. Once it was broke, I had a couple of very strong contractions, more painful pushing, and was screaming at the top of my lungs. It hurt more than anything I have ever experienced. Elaine had a mirror propped at the end of the bed and soon I could see my son's head coming. At that point, the next thing I remember is seeing a ton of liquid of disgusting shades of brown and green come spraying out of me and the next thing I know Tony is putting Levi on my belly.

After 15 minutes of pushing, Levi was born at 9:31am. Tony helped in catching Levi, but because of the commotion, didn't cut his cord. Levi weighed 7 pounds, 7.7 ounces.

Levi wasn't breathing or crying. It freaked me out. Immediately Elaine took him and they brought him to the warmer to clear out his passages because there was meconium in the amniotic fluid. They were able to get him to breathe, but he wasn't really crying or making noises because he was drowsy from the meds I had. I was able to hold him for a few minutes, but they wouldn't let me nurse yet.

When they did let me try to nurse, he wasn't interested. He was sleeping and there was no getting him to eat. Then they took him away for "recovery" in the nursery. Tony went with to the nursery, but he could only stand out side and look in at him. We didn't get to see him again until 2pm. I was one angry and scared mom. I wanted my boy.

When we got him back, I tried to nurse but he was still sleeping and wanting nothing to do with waking up. We were so worried because he looked lifeless. A nurse and lactation specialist came in and explained he was tired from the medicine, but was perfectly healthy. The lactation specialist helped me get him to nurse for the first time, and he has been feeding well since.

Later that evening, he became more alert, and has since become very expressive and is absolutley perfect. We came home yesterday and had a long first night at home, but we are all doing well.